CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A report released Thursday by the state Department of Health and Human Resources shows the use of e-cigarettes by the state’s youth has skyrocketed in the past two years.
State Health Officer Dr. Cathy Slemp told state lawmakers more than one in three, or 35.7%, of West Virginia high school students report current use of e-cigarettes.
“It has gone up among high schoolers in the last two years 150 percent,” Slemp told MetroNews.
Slemp said it doesn’t stop there. She said 1 out of every 6 middle schoolers in the state are vaping. She said the numbers are alarming.
“We are addicting the next generation to tobacco products and to nicotine. The implications of that to our state in the terms of good health and the economy are dramatic,” Slemp said.
The DHHR titled the study “West Virginia Youth and Vaping: A Dangerous Combination.” It shows that like the rest of the nation vaping is increasing among the youth in the Mountain State but even more disturbing, according to Slemp, the rate of the increase in West Virginia is more than other states.
Slemp said unfortunately many believe vaping is better than smoking when both are bad.
“Ninety-five percent of the products commercially on the market contain nicotine and a lot of parents and a lot of students don’t know that,” Slemp said.
One JuulPod is estimated to include as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, according to Slemp. She said some of the students interviewed told of their friends who use three JuulPods a day.
Some more numbers from the study:
In 2019, more than 60% of high school students, or 62.4%, report having tried e-cigarettes, which is up 44% from 2017. There are currently 16.7% of high school students who say they use vaping products more than 20 days a month. That frequent use number was 3.1% in 2017.
Slemp said the students interviewed cited the convenience of e-cigarettes and the flavors as two of the big reasons for using them.
“These are easily disguised. They can look like a jump drive and charge in your computer as your sitting in class. There’s been lots of use in flavors and our students say that’s one of the top reasons why they use these products,” Slemp said.
Slemp told lawmakers the current trend is alarming and needs addressed fully and rapidly.
“We need to look at pricing, enforcement, cessation, education while addressing the issue of youth initiation. We also need to look at our environmental exposures. We know with tobacco it takes a host of approaches collectively so that all of us are doing it together,” Slemp said.
Slemp, who heads the state Bureau of Public Health, issued a vaping alert last August after many states reported cases of severe pulmonary illness involving young people who were vaping.
Both the Kanawha-Charleston and Cabell-Huntington health departments have banned vaping as part of their indoor clean air ordinances. The updates were passed this month. Slemp said more than 30 county boards of health in the Mountain State have taken similar votes.